Balboa Pier Will Now Be Closed at Midnight

Beginning today, the city will close Balboa Pier from midnight to 5 a.m., imposing the same curfew set in June for Newport Pier.

The city’s goal is to curb crime and reduce litter, City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said in a written statement.

Though adopted in February, the curfew had not been enforced at Balboa Pier because signs and a gate had not been installed. Now that is done, officials said.

When the Newport Pier curfew took effect, it drew a mixed response from anglers. But city officials say the new policy has yielded positive results.

Since the Newport Pier closure, Murphy said, “there has been a significant drop in vandalism.” The city expects the same results at Balboa Pier, he said.

Anglers had feared that they would be banished from two of the best fishing spots in the state during prime hours.

A group of fishing enthusiasts organized a campaign to urge other anglers to clean up after themselves to thwart city action but were unsuccessful.

City officials sided with pier-area merchants and residents, who complained that fish bait and remains left behind by anglers were unsightly and discouraged tourism.

Officials had also said there was a growing problem with graffiti, other kinds of vandalism and public drunkenness.

After a several months of study by the city staff, policy-makers decided in February to reduce fishing hours.

City crews now clean up the Newport Beach piers while they are closed during the early morning hours, a policy similar to that in San Clemente, where the pier is closed from midnight to 4 a.m.